Taking Photos from Jewelry

Taking Photos from Jewelry

Links of entry

If you want to take a professional looking photo from jewelry or other little items, you can get problems with reflections, shadows and the automatic flash.
I found several pages with tutorials on how to avoid those problems and take really good photos without spending a lot of money.
On the photo I tried it with an old lamp shade and natural light, but it didn’t work so well.

Links:
Taking good shots of jewelry
The original site doesn’t exist any more and is now available through webarchive: Digital Photography
This was the first tutorial I ever found on this subject – and it is very good. Take also a look at Connie Fox’s jewelry – and appreciate the soft reflections and shadows on the photos ;-)

At the following tutorial I found the idea brilliant to put the pendant onto glass to create a distance between the item and the background
How to take good photos of jewelry and other small objects

Articles about Jewelry Photography

At instructables.com (with explaining photos):
Budget photographic lighting “tent”
Do It Yourself Photography Light Box for Under $40
Super Simple Light Tent
Inexpensive Light Studio for Photographers

Beaded Beads

Beaded Beads

Links of entry

Every beader wants to try a beaded bead sometime.
It isn’t easy to figure out by yourself how to do this, so I want to present several links which show how to bead different beads from beads.
Ehm… ;-))
The beaded beads on the photo were all woven by me around a bigger bead inside.

Links:
Janie’s Embellished Beads
Janie shows a basic bead and countless variations, one more beautiful than the next

About.com: Beadwork:
Bead a Beaded Bead

About.com: Jewelrymaking:
The beads here aren’t spheres, but cylinders, very good to learn the Peyote stitch (links below)
Beaded Bead
Beaded Bead Bracelet

Beaded Beads & Berries

Beaded Balls (French) (with explaining diagrams)

Beaded Ball & Loop Closure (English)


Peyote stitch:
About.com: Beadwork: A website with lots of tutorials about beadwork
Basic Beading Stitch Tutorials

Perlenhobby.de: A website with lots of (german) tutorials about beadwork: click on
‘Anleitungen’ in the sidebar left and there select one of the Peyote tutorials

Online Translators:
Google – Google-Deutschland
Yahoo – Yahoo-Deutschland
Worldlingo

Kumihimo Edo Yatsu

Kumihimo Edo Yatsu

Links of entry

I found recently the blog of Gabriela Marková. I’m very glad about, because her (German) book ‘Kumihimo – Flechtkunst aus Japan’ ‘Kumihimo – Flechtkunst aus Japan’ was such a help for me to learn Kumihimo.
In this book she describes not only different braids, but she always encourages the reader to play around, to try new braids, colour combinations and so forth.
It really was the right book for me ;-)
On the photo you see one of my braids, and I’m almost sure, that it is a Edo Yatsu braid ;-)
If you want to give the Edo Yatsu braid a try, check Gabriela Marková’s blog entry.

Links:
Kumihimo blog of Gabriela Marková
Kumihimo Edo Yatsu braid

The link isn’t available no more.
Gabriela Marková’s German book ‘Kumihimo – Flechtkunst aus Japan’ (English)
At Amazon.de:
Gabriela Marková’s German book ‘Kumihimo – Flechtkunst aus Japan’

Kumihimo here at : unikatissima :
Kumihimo beads here at : unikatissima :

Transparent Polymer Clay

Transparent Polymer Clay

Links of entry

Transparent polymer clay gives you wonderful possibilities as you can see on the photo: this is an egg I covered in polymer clay.
First I took several polymer clay colours (greens, blues and yellows) and rolled them together in a snake. Then I passed it through my pasta machine and wrapped the egg with, decorating it with some red spots.
Transparent Polymer Clay Afterwards I took my translucent flower cane translucent flower cane and covered the polmer clay-ed egg with it. I smoothed out the surface and then baked the polymer clay covered egg.
In the end I sanded and polished thoroughly so that it got a beautiful matte shine.

 

Links:
Translucent Flower Cane

Tutorial moved to: Translucent Flower Cane

Moldable Stamps

Moldable Stamps

Links of entry

I knew about those moldable foam stamps, but I never realized how versatile they are and what great stamps you can make from them. You can even combine them into stunning collages.
I’m speechless again ;-))

On the photo you see my attempt at stamping a clothespins pattern. Because I don’t have no moldable stamp, I used my kneaded eraser. I think this is a great background for a card.


Links:
Moldable Foam Stamps
Foam Stamping: The Follow-Up

unikatissima’s Eraser Stamps

Knotted Fabric Buttons and Beads

Knotted Fabric Buttons and Beads

Links of entry

I mentioned previously crocheted buttons, beaded beads, paper beads and fabric beads.
Another way to make your own buttons and/or beads is knotting fabric.

On the photo you see my first attempt on this technique: I admit that I still have to work on it ;-))
It is tiny (about 0,5 cm / 0.2 inches) and was made from a very light fabric that frayed heavily. I thought that this could look interesting, instead it looks unfinished.
Back to the drawing board ;-)


Links:
Knotted Fabric Buttons and Beads

At unikatissima’s:
Crocheted buttons
Beaded beads
Paper beads
Fabric beads

Beaded Dragon Strap

Beaded Dragon Strap

Links of entry

Today I’d like to present a beautiful Peyote strap with saw teeth, Sally’s Dragon Strap.
To work a Peyote strap is ‘easy’ (for tutorials see links below), but following this pattern is more difficult and figuring out how to add those saw teeth is great ;-)

Links:
Beaded Dragon Strap

About.com: Beadwork: A website with lots of tutorials about beadwork
Odd Count Flat Peyote Tutorial

Perlenhobby.de: A website with lots of (german) tutorials about beadwork:
click on ‘Anleitungen’ in the sidebar left and there select ‘Flaches Peyote mit ungerader Perlenanzahl’

Rough Your Papers Up

Rough Your Papers Up

Links of entry

I like the so-called ‘Shabby Chic’ and tried some of the ‘Rough Your Papers Up’-Techniques. They make great backgrounds.
For the piece on the photo I took a gift wrap and sanded it very lightly (although it looks as if I worked hard on it ;-)). The scratches where spotless white, which was much to much contrast, but after I rubbed some ochre coloured chalk in, I like it much better.

Links:
scrapjazz techniques: Rough Your Papers Up